If ND thought that IGN committed libel and thought it was worth it to sue for damages, they should do so. On that same token, IGN would not knowingly run a false rumor just for clicks on the very same premise. Nobody likes a lawsuit. This isn't some guy on his blog being passed info, this is IGN, part of a larger corporation that understands what they can and can't publish.
But that's not what you were calling for, you wanted IGN to out a source for your own personal need to denigrate the source, IGN, and whatever else you find fault in this story. Frankly, that's disgusting.
Thuway Story Time
What you don't know is what happens behind the scenes. I'll be brief and frank, but I worked at a major first party many moons ago. There was a time when one of our games had sensitive information leaked to the internet.
Within 15 minutes, they had a department wide meeting where they STRESSED they would press charges against the person who committed the crime. We were never told who it was, what happened, and how it went down, but to say that we were all paranoid and shaking in our boots is an understatement. No matter who you talked to, the gossip was heavy and each person took the accusations seriously, and some even took it offensively. Point is - there are too many people and too many reactions to consider.
GAF, the internet, games media etc. - need to leave the details behind the Amy Hennig story alone. Way too much happens in the industry, and I see nothing but trouble if your attempt is to try and conjure up a narrative to highlight what went wrong and how it went down
No one but Evan and Christopher will know the entire story, and that is usually the nature of how these things are run. Point is, upper management exists for a reason. They don't just play with fire and pogo sticks. They behave professionally and logically for the health of the company.
I just want everyone to think about one thing. Sony is very good about giving exposure to their first party teams and letting people go public. Amy Hennig was almost a poster child for Uncharted. This decision was not something made on whim.
However, the idea Naughty Dog even responded to this claims says volumes about how misconstrued the information was. Sony's relationship with IGN is both public and symbolic. Shu coming on Podcast Beyond, The Last of Us and Uncharted 3 getting 10s, and Greg being the voice are all pretty big details.
I've known a ton of shitty employees on the insider track who are nothing but angry and unforgiving. Poor journalism? People moving on? Employees switching to different divisions in the same company? I don't know. One thing is for sure, Naughty Dog is not run by monkeys and this decision was made with careful thought and planning from every party involved.
My two cents? Any sort of tabloid journalism from a major outlet is nothing but hurtful to the reputation of all parties involved. At this point people are disrespecting IGN, Naughty Dog, and Amy. For all anyone knows Amy could be sent over to Santa Monica, but this news story is pure click bait, and that's sad for a site as large as IGN.
